This invention relates to vehicles having expandable room sections, and more particularly to an improved arrangement for providing a flat floor condition when an expandable room section is moved to an extended position relative to the vehicle.
In order to increase the available interior space of recreational vehicles or trailers, it is known to provide a slide-out room section integral with the structure of the vehicle or trailer. During transit, the slide-out room section is retracted and stored in the interior of the vehicle or trailer, with the exterior wall of the slide-out room section approximately flush with the exterior of the vehicle or trailer. To use the slide-out room section, the vehicle is first parked and leveled. The slide-out room section is then slid outward from the vehicle to an extended position, increasing the interior space of the vehicle.
In prior art constructions, the floor of the movable slide-out room section is typically supported on the floor of a stationary room section to which the slide-out section is movably mounted. With this construction, the floor of the slide-out room section is higher than the floor of the stationary room section, which creates a step up from the stationary floor to the slide-out room section floor when the slide-out room section is in its extended position. This step formed by the differential in floor height is undesirable, inconvenient and can lead to injury from a person unwarily tripping or stumbling over the step. Besides limiting the mobility of an occupant of the slide-out room section, the step can cause difficulty in furniture placement and detract from the overall aesthetic appearance of the floor.
To address the problems created by the floor height differential discussed above, various slide-out room structures have been proposed which allow the floor of the movable room section to be flush with the floor of the stationary room section when the slide-out room section is in its extended position. One such flat floor slide-out apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,933 issued Feb. 20, 1996 to Miller et al. In this patent, each of a pair of inner tubes is slidably mounted to one of a pair of outer tubes. The inner tubes are connected to the slide-out room section, and extension of the inner tubes relative to the outer tubes functions to move the slide-out room section outwardly relative to the vehicle. Movement of the inner tubes is caused by a gear engaged with a gear track associated with each inner tube. Each outer tube has a ramped recess formed in an upper wall. A roller is mounted to the inner end of each inner tube, and rides along the ramped recess as the inner tube is extended relative to the outer tube. This movement results in the inner tube pivoting about the drive gear, to lower the outer end of the inner tube and to thereby lower the outer end of the slide-out room section. This structure is disadvantageous in that substantial stresses are placed on the drive gear by the weight of the slide-out room section as the inner tube pivots on the drive gear. Further, this construction requires modification to the structure of the outer tube, which entails tooling and manufacturing costs.
Another flat floor slide-out arrangement is illustrated in Schneider U.S. Pat. No. 5,902,001 Ser. No. 08/823,169, filed Mar. 25, 1997) (Attorney Reference 796-00043). The construction illustrated in this patent employs a notch formed in the inner end of each inner tube, with a gear track extending along the lower wall of the inner tube and along the notch. As the drive gear rotates to extend the inner beam outwardly, the drive gear rides along the contour of the gear track provided by the notch, which results in simultaneous extension and downward movement of the inner tube relative to the outer tube to extend and lower the slide-out room section relative to the stationary room section. This construction is generally satisfactory, but again entails modification of the inner tube or beam in order to lower the slide-out room section upon extension.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a flat floor slide-out room section for a vehicle which accomplishes a flat floor condition without modification to the beams or rails to which the slide-out room section is mounted and which provides movement of the slide-out room section between its extended and retracted positions. It is a further object of the invention to provide a flat floor slide-out arrangement which is extremely simple in its components and assembly, yet which provides highly reliable operation in raising and lowering the slide-out room section during movement of the slide-out room section between its extended and retracted positions. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple and straight forward modification in the mounting of the slide-out room section to the beam to which the slide-out room section is mounted, for providing movement of the slide-out room section between a raised and lowered position for providing a flat floor condition when the slide-out room section is extended.
In accordance with the invention, a flat floor arrangement is provided for a vehicle including a movable room section having a floor, which is movable relative to a stationary room section having a floor. An operating mechanism is mounted to the vehicle and includes an extension member interconnected with the movable room section for moving the movable room section between a retracted position and an extended position for increasing the interior volume of the vehicle. The invention contemplates a vertically movable connection arrangement interposed between the movable room section and the extension member of the operating mechanism, for providing vertical movement of the movable room section relative to the stationary room section between first and second vertical positions. The vertically movable connection arrangement is preferably configured so as to provide downward vertical movement of the outer end of the movable room section, under the force of gravity, when the movable room section is moved to its extended position, and upward vertical movement of the movable room section outer end when the movable room section is moved to its retracted position. The invention further contemplates a cooperative support arrangement interposed between the stationary room section and the inner end of the movable room section. The cooperative support arrangement provides downward vertical movement of the movable room section inner end when the movable room section is in its extended position, and upward vertical movement of the movable room section when the movable room section is moved away from its extended position toward its retracted position. In this manner, the movable room section is moved vertically between a first, lowered position when fully extended and a second, raised position when retracted. In a preferred form, the vertically movable connection arrangement includes a support member interconnected with the extension member and movable therewith, and a mounting member secured to the movable room section and engaged with the support member. The mounting member is mounted to the support member so as to be vertically movable relative thereto, such that vertical movement of the mounting member relative to the support member results in vertical movement of the movable room section relative to the extension member.
The invention provides a variety of mounting arrangements by which the mounting member is mounted for vertical movement relative to the support member. In one embodiment, the support member includes one or more laterally extending portions, such as one or more flanges, and an opening is formed in at least one of the support member flanges. The mounting member extends through the one or more openings so as to provide vertical movement of the mounting member relative to the support member. In an embodiment in which aligned openings are formed in a pair of flanges, the mounting member extends through both of the passages.
The invention further provides stop structure associated with the mounting member and engageable with the support member for limiting the range of vertical movement of the mounting member relative to the support member. The stop structure may be in the form of a stop member secured to the mounting member and engageable with the flange in which the opening is formed so as to support the movable room section in its lowered position when the movable room section is extended. The stop member may be engaged with the mounting member such that the position of the stop member relative to the mounting member is adjustable, to adjust the vertical position of the movable room section relative to the support member.
In one embodiment, passage structure is mounted to the one or more flanges, defining a passage through which the mounting member extends. The passage structure may take the form of a sleeve fixed in position relative to the one or more flanges, and positioned such that the passage defined by the sleeve is in alignment with the opening formed in the flange. A second sleeve is secured to the mounting member and is movable therewith, and is received within the passage structure. The first-mentioned and second sleeves define a cooperative sliding bearing arrangement for facilitating vertical movement of the mounting member relative to the support member.
The mounting member is movable relative to the support member between a raised position when the movable room section is retracted, and a lowered position when the movable room section is fully extended. A biasing element is preferably interposed between the support member and the mounting member for urging the mounting member toward its raised position, to thereby urge the movable room section in an upward vertical direction. The biasing element is preferably in the form of a spring. In an embodiment in which the support member defines a pair of flanges, the spring has a lower end engageable with the lower flange and an upper end engageable with engagement structure provided on the mounting member, for urging the mounting member upwardly relative to the support member. In an embodiment in which the support member defines a single flange, the spring has a lower end engageable with the support member flange and an upper end engageable with the movable room section, for biasing the movable room section upwardly relative to the support member. The lower end of the spring maybe engageable with an adjustment arrangement interposed between the spring and the support member, for adjusting the biasing force exerted by the spring on the movable room section.
The mounting member may be secured to the movable room section via a pivot connection providing pivoting movement of the movable room section about a substantially horizontal axis as the movable room section is moved between its extended and retracted positions. With this arrangement, the movable room section tips relative to the stationary room section when the movable room section attains a predetermined position relative to the stationary room section, during movement of the movable room section toward both its extended and retracted positions.
In one embodiment, the vertically movable connection arrangement is in the form of a telescoping guide assembly interconnected between the support member and the extension member. The telescoping guide assembly includes an upper tubular guide member mounted to and depending downwardly from the movable room section, and a lower tubular guide member mounted to and extending upwardly from the extension member. The upper and lower tubular guide members are mounted for telescoping movement relative to each other. A spring is preferably engageable between the upper and lower guide members for biasing the movable room section upwardly, and stop structure is preferably interposed between the support member and the mounting member for controlling the range of movement of the movable room section between its first and second vertical positions.
In another embodiment, the vertically movable connection arrangement includes a substantially vertical passage provided in the support member, and the mounting member includes a roller arrangement disposed within the support member passage such that engagement of the roller arrangement within the support member passage functions to guide the vertical movement of the movable room section between its first and second vertical positions. Again, this embodiment contemplates stop structure interposed between the support member and the mounting member for controlling the range of movement of the movable room section between its first and second vertical positions, and a spring is engaged between the support member and the mounting member for biasing the mounting member toward an upward vertical position relative to the support member.
In an embodiment in which the operating mechanism includes a pair of spaced extension members mounted to the vehicle and interconnected with the movable room section, a support member is mounted to each of the extension members and a mounting member is engaged with each support member via a vertically movable connection arrangement. The invention further contemplates a synchronizing mechanism interconnected between the mounting members for providing synchronous vertical movement of the mounting members relative to the extension members upon movement of either one of the mounting members, for providing even movement of the movable room section between its first and second vertical positions. This embodiment is especially advantageous when the movable room section is unevenly loaded, when one side of the movable room section may tend to drop more quickly than the other side when the movable room section is moved to its extended position. The synchronizing mechanism may take the form of a series of vertical teeth associated with each mounting member, a pinion engaged with each set of teeth and rotatably mounted to one of the support members, and a synchronizing drive shaft fixed to and extending between the pinions. This arrangement provides synchronous rotation of the pinions as the movable room section is raised and lowered, to ensure that both ends of the movable room section are raised and lowered simultaneously relative to the stationary room section as the movable room section is moved between its extended and retracted positions.
The invention further contemplates a lifting arrangement for insuring the movable room section is moved to its second, raised position when retracted. The lifting arrangement includes a stationary surface, such as a track member fixed relative to the stationary room section floor and disposed therebelow, and a lifting member secured to the underside of the movable room section floor, which is engageable with the stationary surface for raising the movable room section relative to the stationary room section when the movable room section attains a predetermined position relative to the stationary room section during retraction of the movable room section. In one embodiment, the lifting member is in the form of one or more rollers mounted to the underside of the movable room section floor. An inner roller engages the stationary surface upon initial movement of the inner end of the movable room section during retraction. The inner roller rides along the stationary surface to facilitate retraction of the movable room section, and an outer roller then engages the stationary surface when the movable room section attains a predetermined retracted position. The outer roller is arranged so as to raise the outer end of the movable room section, such that the movable room section floor is parallel to the stationary room section floor when the movable room section is fully retracted. In another embodiment, the lifting member is in the form of wedge structure mounted to the underside of the movable room section floor. The wedge structure engages the stationary surface and includes an angled lifting surface which raises the movable room section floor relative to the stationary room section floor when the movable room section attains a predetermined position relative to the stationary room section during retraction. In either embodiment, the lifting arrangement functions to positively move the movable room section to its fully raised position relative to the stationary room section upon movement of the movable room section to its retracted position, to provide positive sealing between the movable and stationary room sections upon full retraction.
The invention further contemplates an improvement in a vehicle having a slide-out room section, an overall vehicle having a slide-out room section, and a method of mounting a slide-out room section in such a vehicle, substantially in accordance with the foregoing summary.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.